Gref Seeks Exemption From Bank Account Ban

The Moscow Times

Jan. 23 2013 00:00

Last edited 21:10

Sberbank CEO German Gref called on lawmakers to exempt Russian-owned banks from the legislation intended to prohibit state officials from keeping their money in foreign banks, Interfax reported Wednesday.

The former economic development and trade minister said in his letter to the State Duma’s Constitutional Law Committee that bureaucrats’ accounts with Russian-owned foreign banks could be efficiently monitored by Russian authorities.

Gref said the measure would allow government officials to pay for goods and services while abroad.

The legislation to prohibit Russian bureaucrats from holding their money abroad was proposed by President Vladimir Putin in his state-of-the-nation address in December. The measure is seen by analysts as one of Putin’s attempts to ensure the loyalty of the ruling elite.

However, Putin rejected a similar measure to ban officials from owning foreign assets.

The Duma approved the bill in its first reading in December.

Analysts said Russian government officials likely hold their funds at foreign subsidiaries of Russian banks only if they are legally obtained. They said those banks also fall under the jurisdiction of the countries where they are located.

Sberbank, Russia’s biggest lender, owns several foreign banks, including Volksbank International in Austria and Denizbank in Turkey. According to Sberbank deputy CEO Sergei Gorkov, the bank’s foreign assets are worth $50 billion.

No normalization of ties between Ukraine and Russia is likely unless the region of Crimea, now under Russian control, is returned to Kiev's sovereignty, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said Tuesday.

Boris Nemtsov, an outspoken critic of President Vladimir Putin and Russia's role in the Ukraine crisis, has been shot dead outside the Kremlin in a murder that underscored the risks taken by the Russian opposition.

The murder of Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov has dampened any hope for a peaceful political transition in Russia away from President Vladimir Putin's government, Garry Kasparov, a prominent opposition voice, has said.

A spokesperson for Moscow's information technology department has denied media reports that some of the surveillance cameras around the Kremlin had been switched off at the time of Boris Nemtsov's murder.

The U.S. State Department and FBI have announced a $3 million reward for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Russian Yevgeny Bogachev, the highest bounty U.S. authorities have ever offered in a cyber case.